The present invention relates primarily to the field of refuse collection, and more particularly, to a system which can operate responsive to a device for signaling when a container, such as a refuse container, is ready to be emptied, and which can then audit the requested refuse pick-up. Although the following discussion is given in the context of refuse collection, it will be appreciated that the improvements which follow can benefit other industries which use containers for any of a variety of diverse purposes.
In conjunction with the collection of refuse, common practice is to station containers at each of a plurality of sites so that customers of the collection service can deposit refuse in their respective containers for subsequent collection, usually according to a pre-established schedule. The collection service then takes appropriate steps, according to the pre-established schedule, to empty the containers of its customers and to remove the contents for disposal. Some collection services charge a flat fee for the services provided, while others charge according to the number of containers that are emptied.
A common practice for emptying the containers of their contents is to employ a service vehicle which includes a hopper for receiving the contents of the containers, and a lifting mechanism for engaging each of the several containers and for lifting the engaged container to the hopper. In the course of lifting the container to the hopper, steps are taken to invert the container so that its contents fall into the hopper under the influence of gravity. This is often facilitated by providing the lifting mechanism and the container with cooperating structures which enable the operator to perform the desired operations remotely, from the service vehicle.
Such a procedure can be quite efficient since the entire operation can be performed remotely, by a single operator driving the service vehicle. In the course of such operations, however, it was not uncommon for the operator to perform such scheduled operations on empty containers. This tended to limit the overall efficiency of the operation, in turn contributing to unnecessary costs (e.g., labor costs, fuel costs, etc.).
To correct this problem, U.S. patent application No. 09/465,162, filed Dec. 16, 1999, and entitled xe2x80x9cSignaling Device for Use with a Containerxe2x80x9d discloses a signaling device which can be mated with an otherwise conventional container to develop a change in state which is indicative of access to the container.
In conjunction with a refuse container having a body and a cover connected to the body of the container by a hinge, the signaling device preferably takes the form of a flag, one end of which is coupled with the hinge of the container. The hinged connection allows the flag to move between a lowered position in which the flag lies over the cover of the container, and a raised position in which the flag extends upwardly from the container.
Resulting from interaction between the flag and the cover, the flag is automatically moved from the lowered position to the raised position as the cover is opened, signaling that the container has been accessed. The flag is further automatically returned from the raised position to the lowered position when the container is emptied. For cases where the container is emptied by lifting the container to the hopper of a service vehicle, inversion of the container operates to return the flag to the lowered position after the container has been emptied.
This then allows the operator to empty only those containers having a signaling device which indicates that the particular container has been accessed, requiring the operator to empty only those containers likely to have contents and allowing the operator to bypass those containers showing no sign of having been accessed since the container was last emptied. This, in turn, allows the operator to proceed at a more rapid, productive and efficient overall pace.
As a result, the signaling device operates to prevent those containers which have not been accessed from being subjected to a refuse emptying operation, significantly improving the overall efficiency of the refuse collection process. In practice, however, it was found that further improvements to the overall efficiency of the refuse collection process would be possible if even partially filled containers were bypassed, leaving only those containers that are full, or substantially full, to be emptied.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved by combining the foregoing signaling device with a system for auditing the refuse collection process. To this end, customers are charged for service according to the number of times that their refuse containers are accessed. The customers subscribing to the service (hereafter, the xe2x80x9csubscribersxe2x80x9d) are then motivated to call for collections of their refuse only from containers that are substantially full, or the refuse collection service is compensated for additional container pick-ups.
Desired collections are called for by moving the signaling device to a pre-established position (e.g., a raised position) which indicates that the container is ready to be emptied. The operator of the service vehicle would then take steps to access and empty the subscriber""s container. In the course of accessing the container, steps are taken, preferably automatically, to identify the subscriber (e.g., by address) and to store data corresponding to each transaction. The stored data is then collected and used to charge each subscriber according to the collection which has been requested. In this way, the subscribers are motivated to call for pick-ups only when their refuse containers are substantially full, still further improving the overall efficiency of the refuse collection process, or the refuse collection service is compensated for additional container pick-ups.
For further detail regarding preferred implementations of the present invention, reference is made to the detailed description which is provided below, taken in conjunction with the following illustrations.